{"id":5105,"date":"2016-08-04T16:18:49","date_gmt":"2016-08-04T14:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hejsweden.com\/en\/?p=5105"},"modified":"2020-06-03T14:34:03","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T13:34:03","slug":"small-talk-with-swedes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hejsweden.com\/en\/small-talk-with-swedes\/","title":{"rendered":"Swedes Avoid Small Talk & Eye Contact"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Be<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s\u00a0maybe not too uncommon that people get easily nervous when they have to talk to strangers. But what’s a bit different with the Swedes is, they even\u00a0feel uncomfortable talking to people they have already\u00a0met before.<\/p>\n

Talking to strangers in Sweden<\/h2>\n

Swedes feel awkward when a stranger starts talking to them.<\/p>\n

If you start talking to a stranger\u00a0on the street or when\u00a0sit next to him or her on\u00a0a bus, you might be perceived as a weirdo. Swedes will reply politely and answer all your questions politely.\u00a0Try to\u00a0round up\u00a0the conversation as soon as the Swede takes a longer look at the mobile phone while you’re talking.<\/p>\n

Avoid eye-contact<\/h2>\n

Swedes have many\u00a0ways to avoid a small talk situation.\u00a0Of course they can talk a little\u00a0when they meet a friend. But when they meet someone that’s just a acquaintance\u00a0they do everything to avoid an awkward smalltalk conversation.<\/p>

\"Book<\/a><\/div>\n

One trick Swedes\u00a0have come up with to avoid talking to you: they avoid eye-contact.<\/p>\n

Quote from an imaginary Swede: “When I see people I have only met a few times before, I pretend to active on\u00a0my phone and hope they don\u2019t see me.”<\/em><\/p>\n

It can actually\u00a0happen that a person you know just passes by in the shopping street looking down on the\u00a0phone or\u00a0another\u00a0direction. No worries, totally normal in Sweden. Don’t take it personal, they do it with their fellow “old-Swedes” as well.<\/p>\n

Mastering Swedish eye-contact avoidance<\/strong> gives you certain time efficiency advantages. Should you ever see a former one-night stand walking in your direction, just stare at your phone or\u00a0straight pass her and pretend you haven’t seen her. She’ll definitely do exactly the same and both of you know\u00a0why the other person is acting like that, but prefer silence over outspoken, time-consuming small talk awkwardness.<\/p>\n

Swedish small talk topic<\/h2>\n

If you find yourself in a situation when your good manners tell you you HAVE TO make a short conversation, choose the right topic to talk about.<\/p>\n

You will make most Swedes feel uncomfortable talking about anything but weather, vacations, <\/strong>and maybe the food <\/strong>they have in their shopping basket.<\/p>\n

Oh you bought corn and minced meat – are you going to have\u00a0a “tacco kv\u00e4ll”<\/em> (tacco evening)?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After four or five sentences forward and back a\u00a0Swede will say, “d\u00e5 s\u00e5” or “n\u00e4h\u00e4” to show you it’s time to say good bye,\u00a0he’ll wish you to\u00a0“have it so good<\/em>” (ha det s\u00e5 bra) and go on with the grocery shopping. Then, a minute later, you run into him\u00a0again in front of the toilet paper shelf and, of course, try to avoid eye-contact. If your eyes happen to meet, just put on an awkward forced smile.<\/p>\n

Topics\u00a0to avoid<\/h2>\n

Rather not talk about the following topics with a Swede who is not one of your closest friends, and definitely not in any small talk situation:<\/p>\n